SPRINGFIELD – With a 1 a.m. entertainment curfew set to take effect April 6, the city has begun hearings for bar owners seeking permits to offer entertainment beyond the 1 a.m. curfew.

The hearings, which began Thursday and resume Monday, come three months after Mayor Domenic J. Sarno proposed the 1 a.m. curfew to cut down on violence in the city's entertainment district.

Under the curfew, bars can remain open until 2 a.m., but music, television, video games or other amusements must stop at 1 a.m.

The curfew received hostile reviews at a public hearing on Dec. 23, with bar owners maintaining it would cut into their profits and reduce business in the entertainment district without significantly reducing crime.

Based on a recommendation by Associate City Solicitor Alesia Days, who conducted the hearing, the mayor decided to impose the curfew.

In announcing his decision, the mayor noted that an East Hartford man was arrested with a gun shortly after 2 a.m. during the previous weekend, illustrating the risk posed by the late closing times.

Sarno said the curfew, coupled with restrictions on under-21 nights, will reduce the amount of violence between midnight and 4 a.m., a major concern of city law enforcement officials.

The public is invited to the hearings to be held in the anteroom, second floor, City Hall.
Hearings scheduled this week are: